Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, now faces new charges, including bank fraud and operating an unlicensed money transmitter, in addition to the eight counts he already faced, according to a new indictment unveiled on Thursday. Bankman-Fried also faces a modified campaign-finance law charge and conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions. Previously, he faced charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers, wire fraud on customers, conspiracy to commit wire fraud on lenders, wire fraud on lenders, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and violate campaign-finance laws.
The unsealed charges said that Bankman-Fried and others falsely represented to a financial institution that the account would be used for trading and market making when it was actually to receive and transmit customer funds. He opened a company called North Dimension to tell a false story to an unnamed bank that was previously reluctant to open an account. The charges also allege that Bankman-Fried and other conspirators made corporate contributions to candidates and committees in the Southern District of New York that were reported in the name of another person.
Bankman-Fried reportedly wanted to give at least $1 million to a pro-LGBTQ political action committee, but he couldn’t find anyone bisexual or gay at the company whom he trusted. One unnamed executive whose description matches Nishad Singh, who was director of engineering at FTX, was urged to make the donation, while another executive did so for Republican causes. In July, Singh gave $1.1 million to the LGBTQ Victory Fund Federal PAC, and it was the committee’s biggest donation by far.
Bankman-Fried is also accused of using straw donors to evade contribution limits on individual donations to candidates to whom he had already donated, according to the indictment. The fraudulent conduct impaired the functioning of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the document said. The government has seized assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars, including more than 55 million shares trading app Robinhood Markets (HOOD) currently valued at $550 million and over $140 million in cash held at Silvergate Bank and Farmington State Bank in the name of FTX Digital Markets. Bankman-Fried is set to face trial in October.
